World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbasePaul Baudouin was born into a wealthy family in Paris, France. Between 1914 and 1918, he served in the French Army as an artillery officer. During the 1920s, he entered politics. In 1930, he became the Deputy Director and General manager of the Bank of Indochina. On 30 Mar 1940, he joined as a member of Prime Minister Paul Reynaud's government. On 16 Jun 1940, he was named by Prime Minister Philippe Pétain as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in which position he negotiated with the Germans for the armistice and with the Japanese over Indochina. Between Dec 1940 and 2 Jan 1941, he briefly served as the Minister of Information. Between 1941 and 1944, he returned to the Bank of Indochina as its chair. On 3 Mar 1947, he was given the sentence of five years hard labor for collaborating with the Germans, but the sentence was lessened in 1949.

Photographs

Paul Baudouin Timeline